Using Science to Inspire

The Invisible Landscape

Go for a stroll along a path in the park and it will guide you around the landscape – around water, trees, and flower gardens. Your route is set by the outline the path takes as it meanders through the park.

We walk along invisible paths too; we just don’t know they’re there. Instead of our eyes following the outline of a path in the park, these invisible paths are connected to our minds and they gently (and sometimes forcefully) guide us to the left, to the right, to stop, to go backwards, and even to go round in a circle at times.

They are paths along a landscape of consciousness.

I don’t personally take the mainstream scientific view that consciousness is a side-effect of brain chemistry. I believe that consciousness is something fundamental to reality itself.

Looking inside the cells of our bodies reveals proteins, enzymes, hormones, DNA, and small organelles. Looking inside, say, a piece of DNA reveals atoms, which are approximately 0.00000001cm wide. But inside atoms, it’s a very different reality. Most people know of protons, neutrons and electrons and we get the idea that they are jammed together into a little ball. Actually, if a proton was the size of a tennis ball, an electron would be the size of a particle of dust and it would be approximately 1 kilometer away.

A proton lives around the 0.0000000000001 cm scale (10-15 metres – that’s 10 to the power of minus 15). The Large Hadron Collider at CERN can probe sizes a little smaller, but then there’s a major jump to the fabric of reality, known as the Planck scale, which sits at 10-35 metres.

No one knows for sure what’s actually there, but my instinct is that the fabric is consciousness itself. I’m led to that conclusion in two ways. The first is purely intuitively. That might not stand up to scientific reasoning, but then again, if you are trying to measure consciousness, then like it or not, your best tool is your own intuition.

The other way is more rational as it’s my interpretation of the general outcome of hundreds of experiments that demonstrate the correlations between the minds and brains of people separated by distances.

Take, for instance, the experiments where one member of a couple is placed inside an MRI scanner or connected to an EEG device. The other person is in another room and then, after a short time, the scientists startle him, perhaps by shining a light in his eyes. At that moment, the MRI or EEG detects a flash in the other partner’s brain.

If we remain wedded to the idea that consciousness is inside the head, a side-effect of brain chemistry, then we have to dismiss research like this as somehow flawed. There is a lot of it around so that would be a lot of quality scientists that we would have to cast aside as inferior or misguided researchers, which I’m not sure we can do.

What if, instead, we assumed the research is correct? We’re then led to the conclusion that consciousness is not inside the head after all, and can entertain the possibility that the brain is more like a sophisticated aerial that receives and processes consciousness. Damage to the aerial would affect a person’s mind, which is what we do in fact see in medical science.

So if it’s not inside the head, where is consciousness? I’d say it’s everywhere. The brain (aerial) gives us a way to focus it in our individual ways – me as David Hamilton, you as, well, you. Consciousness is a field that permeates all space, just as radio waves and your favorite TV programs are actually buzzing everywhere around you but are channeled through your radio, TV or computer. In effect, consciousness is smeared throughout the universe and emanates from the fabric of reality, where it is in its purest state.

But the fact that all reality emerges out of the fabric of reality leads us to an interesting thought that can explain the invisible paths in our lives. Looking around us we see physical structures and landscapes. There are structures from the largest (galaxies) to the smallest (atoms) scales. That these exist tells us that the fabric of reality has structure. And if the fabric of reality is pure consciousness then there are structures of consciousness in it, like a painted landscape.

Now we’re getting close to understanding the invisible paths in our lives. Just as we walk through physical landscapes, so there are landscapes of consciousness that we walk through as well. We just can’t see them. But they guide our journey through life – like intuitive whispers.

They take us to people who come into our lives for a ‘reason, a season, or a lifetime’. They also guide us to particular events that may or may not make sense to us at the time.

So maybe life isn’t so much the blank canvas (or landscape) that many of us assume. Perhaps there are deeper forces – invisible paths of consciousness – at bay that govern the direction of our lives.

I have always believed in the idea of soul mates, that there are people who are important to us, who are meant to be in our lives. I am more convinced now than ever.

I often wonder if there is an ultimate path. I do believe that there is. It’s subtle, but its presence is seen everywhere. It is the path of love.

We are not forced to walk this path but, ohhhhh, it feels good when we do and so we walk it, then, out of choice.

Love is the path where destiny and free will meet. All of our choices are our own, but they are also inspired by the path.

You can get on the path at any moment. Just love those around you!

When receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Theresa was asked how we could best promote world peace.

She said, “Go home and love your family.”

For me, that about says it all.

You can read more of this idea and other aspects of destiny and free will in my book, ‘Is Your Life Mapped Out? Unraveling the mystery of destiny vs free will’ (UK paperback) (US paperback) (UK Kindle) (US Kindle)

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8 thoughts on “The Invisible Landscape”

MJ Talarowska Duszak

November 7, 2012

Just one thing to add to Mother Theresa’s comment…Blessed John Paul II commented along those same lines “The greatest gift that a Mother and Father can give to their children is to love and respect each other.” Two very wise people.

Anita Shepherd

November 8, 2012

Hi David,

Just wanted you to know that life remarkably works out! First of all, I did really well at science at school and have always been fascinated in the subject.
Secondly, I suffered from anxiety most of my life. For the last 4 years it has got worse and at the beginning of this year started suffering anxiety attacks.
I started researching anxiety, started seeing a Naturopath and susequently started looking into spirituality. My life has taken the most amazing turn. When looking into “Mind, body, soul” I stumbled upon you.
Previously,I had tried to get to university in the past 3 years running but something keeps coming up to stop me from going, either money problems or no time because of children. I kept trying to enrol in International Studies degrees, having been interested in humanitarian aid.
Guess what I am doing now (smile) I am studying an online Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy which includes mostly science subjects.
I thank you for your inspiration and utimately (as my life begins to ripen) my path to follow. You have no idea how lost I have felt and to now suddenly seem like my eyes are opening for the first time, it is quite exhilarating.
I continue to work on myself everyday and still have a long way to go but, wow, I prefer to look at how far I have come and to be truely proud of myself for the first time in my life.
I intend to read your books as soon as I can.
Thank you from a 38 year old Australian Mum of 3 young boys.
Anita.

Steve

November 9, 2012

Does this only work on couples, “Take, for instance, the experiments where one member of a couple is placed inside an MRI scanner or connected to an EEG device. The other person is in another room and then, after a short time, the scientists startle him, perhaps by shining a light in his eyes. At that moment, the MRI or EEG detects a flash in the other partner’s brain.”………or does it work on any Joe who is in the room and the MRI person picks up on anyones sudden impact?

David R. Hamilton PhD

November 9, 2012

Thanks for that. I love that quote!!

David R. Hamilton PhD

November 9, 2012

Hi Anita,

Your comment really made me smile. It’s great that you’ve found the right path for you and that things have worked out in a way that makes you happy. Thank you for brightening my day. 🙂

David R. Hamilton PhD

November 9, 2012

Hi Steve,

The research was done on people who shared a strong emotional bond, so that could be couples, close friends, event parent and child. The key is the emotional bond. In the absence of the bond there was no visible correlation between the two people, which suggests that an emotional connection is key for this kind of connection. It still exists with people who don’t share an emotional bond but the MRI isn’t sensitive enough to pick it up. You can see it in similar experiments that used EEG instead.

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